


When You Love A Nerd

by JerichoAkiyama0



Series: Underneath it All [2]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Double Dating, Drabble, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 02:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10912104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JerichoAkiyama0/pseuds/JerichoAkiyama0
Summary: A peek into the nerdy lives of the oldest son and his husband in the Shepard-Alanko household.





	When You Love A Nerd

If there was one thing that Kaidan had long accepted about John over the years, it was that the man was a gigantic nerd.

 

_ “Oh look! The latest Blasto movie’s coming out the week!” _

 

_ “Hey! They got the latest model of that ship!” _

 

_ “Hey! They finally got a new model for that gun I love!” _

 

If there was one thing that Kaidan knew about his oldest son Daniel, it was that the boy was as big a nerd as his father.

 

_ “Hey dad, look! They’ve got the latest book of that series I love!” _

 

_ “Hey! They’ve published a new article on biotic implants!” _

 

_ “Oh my God! That new magical girl anime I love has a new toy out!” _

 

Like father like son.

 

They had a few overlapping interests, like astronomy, space exploration, history... Sexy, furry Canadian men.

 

“ _ What do you think of that guy?” _

 

_ “Who? The guy with the glasses?” _

 

_ “Yeah.” _

 

_ “Eh, he looks nice, but his face screams  _ “Help! I’m too butch to function!”  _ Pass.” _

 

_ “What about the redhead with the tight butt?” _

 

_ “Dude, dad, that’s my professor.” _

 

_ “So?” _

 

_ “Does dad know you and I do this when we go out?” _

 

_ “I’ll buy you that new model you were eyeing.” _

 

_ “Yeah, I'd jump his bones with a running start and a drill bit.” _

 

_ Definitely  _ like father like son.

 

But when it came to topics like the military, Daniel would shy away, usually becoming quite or make up some excuse to avoid the topic. Whenever he or Kaidan started talking about their Alliance days, some of the harsher things they’d seen during the War, Daniel would often excuse himself and leave the room as fast as possible. It wasn’t that he hated the Alliance, per se, but he’d grown up knowing what it did to some people, how it often spat people out after using them for all they were worth.

 

Kaidan and John had gotten help after they left the Alliance, but they still had some bad days thanks to their PTSD. But they managed, and with the help of their friends and family, they were able to get it under control, enough that they were granted adoption of all their children.

 

============================================

 

“How was your session today, son?”

 

It had been a couple months since Daniel was discharged from the hospital after his attempted suicide. He was well on the mend, but he was still suffering from mild anemia. His doctors weren’t sure if this was going to become a chronic problem, or if it would pass.

 

As part of his discharge, though, Daniel had to go to weekly therapy sessions, as a way to cope with the guilt of what he had done, and to finally get many things off of his chest.

 

“It was good!” The bright smile had started to return, little by little with each and every session. “Not having as many nightmares.”

 

The first week back home, Kaidan and John and rushed into his room after his terrified screams had woken them up. He was thrashing around violently in his bed, tangled up in the sheets. His biotics had flared up instinctively when John had touched his shoulder, throwing the man back. Hearing his father’s groan brought him out of it. Kaidan was helping John up when Daniel rushed to both of them, crying hysterically. He kept apologizing over and over, but his fathers reassured him that his reaction was normal.

 

“And Matt’s?”

 

Hearing his name, Daniel’s husband poked his head into the kitchen. “It was good, too.” He came in fully, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. His prosthetic arm gleamed in the light, it’s obsidian black material polished like glass. White lines glowed faintly along it. Same with the foot. He continued to wear the eyepatch, though when he was at work he wore the one with N7 on it.

 

“Still lot to work on, but..” He came up behind his husband, wrapping his arms around Daniel’s shoulders.

 

“You boys are strong, you’ve got each other.” The older man said with a smile.

 

“Like you and dad”

 

Kaidan smiled. He looked out the window, watching Shepard try to teach the twins how to throw a football.

 

“Yeah, just like me and your dad.”

 

============================================

 

Shepard was  _ bored. _

 

B-O-R-E-D  _ bored. _

 

There had been no issue serious enough to warrant his presence on the Citadel in over a week.He’d worked through all the reports that needed his review, and had finished replying to various emails. His aide was handling all of the menial tasks, but would call if anything were to arise.

 

Normally he’d be delighted in spending time at home, but Mercy was off on Tachanka, handling business with Wrex and Grunt. Kaidan was off on a shopping trip with the girls, and the twins were visiting Tali and Garrus on the Citadel. The only other person home was Daniel, but he was upstairs resting after an intense workout with Matthew.

 

Speaking of Matthew.

 

He looked out into the backyard and spied his son-in-law sitting in one of the deck chairs. John could see that the young man was off in a place soldiers often went to after war. He knew that place all too well. It was a dark, dangerous place, where lesser men became trapped, reliving past horrors. If it weren’t for Kaidan and the love of his children, he knew he’d be stuck there, as well.

 

Getting out of his seat, he went into the backyard and sat next to him. He didn’t say anything, just content to sit there.

 

“How do you handle them? The nightmares?”

 

Shepard sighed softly, looking out across the yard. “I talk to Kaidan. He listens. He understands.”

 

“Because you and he went through the same stuff?”

 

He mulled his next words over before speaking. “Yes and no.”

 

Matthew turned to look at him, his expression confused. “Whattday mean by that?”

 

“Yes, Kaidan and I went through the war together, came out of it. But he and I experienced different things, both before and after.” He turned look at his son-in-law - _ No-  _ at his  _ son,  _ fixing him with a gaze that spoke volumes.

 

“But we try to understand, even after all these years.” Shepard leaned back in his seat, letting Matthew mull over his words.

 

“So they’ll never go away?” He sounded dejected. Shepard turned to look at Matthew again, saw his defeated look in his eyes.

 

“No, Matt, they’ll never go away,” He said sadly, “But,” He smiled, something that made Matt feel comforted, “But it gets better. They’ll always be part of you, but that doesn’t mean that they  _ define  _ you. Learn to draw strength from your experiences, to help you build a better future for yourself and Danny.”

 

Since coming back home, Matt started to feel that much more at ease with himself.

 

There was hope.

 

=====================================

 

“Dad,  _ no!” _

 

“But you love Blasto!”

 

Daniel sighed in frustration, rubbing a frustrated hand down his face  _ very  _ Shepard-like.

 

“No dad,  **_you_ ** love Blasto. You just want me to go with you because you’re too chicken-shit to go by yourself!”

 

“Hey now, I’m your father young man! You don’t talk to me like that!”

 

“I’m a married man now,  _ dad,  _ I get to snipe at you now, you know!”

 

“Was their relationship always like this?” Matthew asked Kaidan. Both men were in the kitchen, just listening to Daniel and Shepard argue over a movie.

 

“Heh, like you wouldn’t believe.” Kaidan was washing the dishes after lunch the next day. Shepard wanted to go watch the latest Blasto movie, but Kaidan was going to go visit his mother, and Matthew himself was going to the gym with some friends of his from N School that were in town.

 

“How about this: You go with me and watch the movie, and I’ll get you that subscription to that magazine you like.”

 

“Which, dad? I read a lot of magazines.” He sighed.

 

“ _ The  _ magazine.”

 

That made him pause.

 

“You mean-?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“No questions asked?”

 

“No questions asked.”

 

Daniel narrowed his gaze. “What do you get out of this?”

 

“Just a day out with my son.” He grinned.

 

Daniel’s lip curled up into the tiniest smirk either Matt or Kaidan had ever seen. Both men looked at each other, then back at the other pair. Then, they noticed Shepard start to squirm under his son’s gaze.

 

“Okay fine! I want it, too!” He snapped.

 

Daniel flashed his father a full smirk. “I knew I’d break you.”

 

“Are we going to the movie or not?” He snapped again, but was grinning.

 

“Yeah fine, let’s go watch that movie.”

 

John didn’t let Daniel live it down later that night, when he recounted to their respective partners how the young man had actually  _ enjoyed  _ the movie.

 

Getting a face full of biotically thrown cake was worth it.

 

==========================================

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Daniel looked up from his omni-tool. “Trying to translate what they’re saying into English.”

 

Kaidan arched a brow. “‘They?’”

 

His son pointed at Matthew and John, the two men hunched over a gun display. They were chatting in a highly animated manner, moving from gun display to gun display in the History of War wing of the museum in Vancouver.

 

It had actually been Daniel’s idea to take Matthew and John to the museum as a sort of bonding day trip for the four of them. But, the minute they saw the War Wing, they were gone.

 

“I’m pretty sure it’s some sort of dead language, but I need to do more digging. Maybe Aunt Liara could help.”

 

Kaidan’s barking laugh drew curious looks from other museum patrons, but they paid them no mind.

 

“They’re just being weapons nerds.” He chuckled.

 

“Oh, is that it? I thought I’d just walked into the Twilight Zone.” It came out more snapish than he intended. He caught himself, looking apologetic.

 

“Sorry,” He said quietly. “This place is,.. It’s kind of..”

 

“Getting to you?”

 

His son only nodded. His shoulders were starting to tense up, pulling forward. It looked like he was getting ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

 

Seeing his son in distress, he lead him out of the wing and made their way to the Space Exploration exhibit. Kaidan hadn’t realized how close Daniel was to a panic attack, until they’d reached the farthest end of the exhibition wing. His breathing was rapid, body shaking like a leaf caught in the wind.

 

“Hey, we’re clear now, okay?” Daniel nodded, letting his father hold him gently.

 

“Come on, deep breaths, in and out slow just like we practiced.” Daniel nodded again, taking deep, shaky breaths.

 

It took him a couple of minutes, but he was finally able to get his fight-or-flight response under control. “Sorry,” He gave his father a shaky smile.

 

“Hey, don’t worry about, babs.” Kaidan gave another reassuring hug to his son. “Do you want to go to the diner across the street? My treat.”

 

Letting out another shaky breath, his son nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’d like that.”

 

“Hey! There you guys are!”

 

Both Kaidan and Daniel turned to see Matthew jogging up to them, beaming brightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaidan watched his son compose himself, slapping on his patented smile for his husband. “Hey, sorry we walked off, but I wanted to see the exhibit.”

 

Matthew frowned when he reached them. “Don’t bullshit the bullshitter.”

 

“What?”

 

Daniel suddenly found himself being held tightly by his husband. “Hun, I’m sorry.”

 

He tried to pull back, but Matthew just held him. “What are you apologizing for?”

 

“For dragging you into that part the museum.” Matt pulled back enough to get a good look at his partner. “I was just so excited to see it that, I forgot that it was one of your triggers.”

 

“I’m sorry, too, son.” Shepard looked crestfallen. “I was just happy to get to spend a day with you guys.”

 

“Guys, really, it’s okay.” He smiled at both men. “Anything to see two of my favorite men happy and having a good time  is well worth a little anxiety.”

 

“How about we make it up to you?”

 

That made the young man blinked, a bit suspicious of what his father and husband had in mind. “What do you have in mind?”

 

===========================

 

_ Ohfuckohfuckohfuck ohhhhhhhhh-  _ “-FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!”

 

“BEST DAY  _ EVER!!!! _ ”

 

The coaster raced down the tallest hill, Daniel laughing his head off, throwing his arms up in the air. Next, to him, Matt was looking green even as he, Kaidan, and Shepard were screaming at the top of their lungs.

 

Soldiers the three of them, having seen horrific things, couldn’t understand why they were terrified of a  _ rollercoaster  _ of all things. They faced down enemy combatants, been subjected to intense Zero-G training. Had made it through HALO/HAHO drop training. Spacewalks, for fuck’s sake!

 

And still, a rollercoaster was making their lives flash before their eyes.

 

_ Danny’s a fucking demon!  _ They collectively thought.

 

Once they’d all gotten off, Daniel positively  _ glowed  _ as he skipped down the steps. The three older men groaned, Kaidan leaning heavily against Shepard. Matt was a pretty sick shade of green as he gripped the handrail as he walked down.

 

“Let's go again! Let’s go again!” Daniel was bouncing on the tips of his toes, grinning.

 

Matt’s eyes grew wide. He made a gagging noise, then broke off and emptied his stomach into the first trash can he found.

 

“We’ve given rise to a demon,” Shepard chuckled, burping.

 

“ _ Definitely  _ your son, Shepard.” His husband chuckled, trying to keep the bile down. “Only  _ you  _ could have spawned such evil.”

 

===========================================

 

“Hey, dad?”

 

Shepard looked up from his datapad to see Daniel standing near him in the living room, dressed in sweats and a shirt. They’d gotten home from the amusement park rather late, and had stopped at a burger joint to grab a late dinner. Matthew and Kaidan had gone straight to bed when they got back, but Shepard had some reports to review for the Council, and Daniel had gone for a walk through the orchard.

 

“Hey, I thought you’d gone to bed after your walk, everything all right, little man?” He motioned for his son to sit next to him on the couch. Taking the hint, the young man plopped himself down next to his father.

 

“Nothing, wrong, just thought you could use some company is all.” He said with a shrug.

 

Chuckling, the older man put the pad down and stretched. “Thanks, but it’s not something I haven’t done before.”

 

“Oh, okay. Sorry, I guess,” Nodding, the young man slowly got up. But the small look on his face made John reach out.

 

“Hey, on second thought,” He said with a grin, “Why don’t we take that new shooter we got, whaddya say?”

 

The smile on his son’s face was always worth a little down time.

 

From the top of the stairs, Kaidan and Matt chuckled as they watched their respective husband trash-talk the other.

 

“They’re such nerds” But they’d never have it any other way.


End file.
